Maple Leafs at Flames preview

MAPLE LEAFS (15-9-1) at FLAMES (13-9-1)
9 p.m. ET; SNW, TSN4, NHL.TV

Frederik Andersen is expected to make his 22nd start for the Maple Leafs, who are 1-2-1 in their past four games. Andersen is 6-1-1 with 14 goals against and two shutouts in his past eight starts, and has held opponents to two goals or fewer in six of his past seven starts.
Mike Smith (11-7-1, 2.64 goals-against average, .922 save percentage) will make his 21st start for the Flames, who begin a four-game homestand. They are 1-1-1 in their past three games after going 4-1-0.

Players to watch

Maple Leafs forward Nazem Kadri has 10 points (five goals, five assists), and has been held without a point once in his past 10 games.
Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau has nine goals and 22 points in his past 13 games, and is tied for second in NHL scoring with 34 points (11 goals, 23 assists).

They said it

"I think the teams are pretty much comparable. A lot of firepower up front with a lot of great 'D' back, so it's just a patience game tonight, and making sure when you get the chance, you're burying them." -- Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner
"I think we have another level we can go to. We, as a team, think we can be a little bit better at times. I think this is a good test for us, a pretty skilled team up front that will test our defensive habits a little bit more here."-- Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau

Maple Leafs projected lineup

Zach Hyman -- Auston Matthews -- Connor Brown
Patrick Marleau -- Nazem Kadri -- Leo Komarov
James van Riemsdyk -- Tyler Bozak -- Mitchell Marner
Matt Martin -- Dominic Moore -- William Nylander
Morgan Rielly -- Ron Hainsey
Jake Gardiner -- Nikita Zaitsev
Andreas Borgman -- Roman Polak
Frederik Andersen
Curtis McElhinney
Scratched:Josh Leivo, Nikita Soshnikov, Connor Carrick
Injured: None

Flames projected lineup

Johnny Gaudreau -- Sean Monahan -- Micheal Ferland
Matthew Tkachuk -- Mikael Backlund -- Michael Frolik
Sam Bennett -- Mark Jankowski -- Jaromir Jagr
Freddie Hamilton -- Matt Stajan -- Troy Brouwer
Mark Giordano -- Dougie Hamilton
TJ Brodie -- Travis Hamonic
Brett Kulak -- Michael Stone
Mike Smith
David Rittich
Scratched: Curtis Lazar, Matt Bartkowski
Injured:Kris Versteeg (lower body)

Status report

The Flames held an optional skate Tuesday. … Flames coach Glen Gulutzan didn't have an update on Versteeg, who will miss his second straight game.

Stat pack

Van Riemsdyk has eight points (six goals, two assists) in his past eight games. ... Marleau is two points from 1,100 in his NHL career. … Monahan has 10 points (six goals, four assists) in his past five games. ... Ferland has seven goals and three assists in his past 10 games